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Monday, July 9, 2012

Kong Hee endorsed superb con artist Benny Hinn

Kong Hee, the founding senior pastor of City Harvest Church (CHC), showed his spiritual wisdom and discernment by regularly inviting Benny Hinn, the fraudulent "renowned" faith healer and "miracle" worker, to hold mass "healing miracle crusades" in the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Singapore Expo, attracting tens of thousands, deceiving trusting and sick people with false promises and fake miracles, and enriching the unscrupulous and despicable con man.

"Pay me $1500, all who are mired in debt and in despair. I promise you a miracle of debt freedom for $1500," said Benny Hinn, unscrupulous swindler and scoundrel, in a November 2008 crusade in Singapore organized by CHC. (details below)

The charlatan ruthlessly exploited the most vulnerable, the poorest of the poor, and the sickest of the sick, for their last cent.

In the following video 1, Benny Hinn "anointed", by touching and remotely smiting, Kong Hee. "That's the glory of God here", Hinn pointed to Kong Hee (0:23, 0:28, 0:37). "The Lord says, Four times what you have! God is going to give you four times what you have, my mighty brother!" (1:00) Hinn said to Kong Hee.

Kong Hee seems to have been a man after the scoundrel's own heart, and a faithful disciple of the crook.

* In video 8, Benny Hinn masterfully and cynically manipulated the innocent faith and fervent hope for miraculous cure of a crowd in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia. The stadium has 88,000 seats. Hinn claimed that the crowd was nearly half a million (15:00). This is typical of Hinn, who would confidently assert lies (in this case to impress his TV audience), even when they are obviously lies.

A controversial aspect of Benny Hinn's ministry is his teaching on, and demonstration of, a phenomenon he dubs "The Anointing"—the power purportedly given by God and transmitted through Hinn to carry out supernatural acts. At Hinn's Miracle Crusades, he has allegedly healed attendees of blindness, deafness, cancer, AIDS,and severe physical injuries. However, investigative reports by the Los Angeles Times, NBC's Dateline, the CBC's The Fifth Estate, and the Nine Network's 60 Minutes have called these claims into question.

Hinn has also caused controversy for theological remarks and claims he has made during TV appearances. In 1999, Hinn appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), claiming that God had given him a vision predicting the resurrection of thousands of dead people after watching the network—laying out a scenario of people placing their dead loved ones' hands on TV screens tuned into the station—and suggesting that TBN would be "an extension of Heaven to Earth".

False Prophecies

Hinn is notable for his mistaken prophecies relating to the end times, including the destruction of homosexuals in the USA, the death of Fidel Castro in the 1990s, and the end of the world in 1992 and 1999.

A Question of Miracles

In April 2001, HBO aired a documentary entitled A Question of Miracles(Part 1,Part 2, final part not available) that focused on Hinn and a well-documented fellow Word-of-Faith German minister based in Africa, Reinhard Bonnke. Both Hinn and Bonnke offered full access to their events to the documentary crew, and the documentary team followed seven cases of "miracle healings" from Hinn's crusade over the next year. The film's director, Antony Thomas, claimed to CNN's Kyra Phillips that they did not find any cases where people were actually healed by Hinn. Thomas said in a New York Times interview that "If I had seen miracles [from Hinn's ministry], I would have been happy to trumpet it...but in retrospect, I think they do more damage to Christianity than the most committed atheist."

"Do You Believe in Miracles"

In November 2004, the CBC Television show The Fifth Estate did a special titled "Do You Believe in Miracles" (video 4 above) on the apparent transgressions committed by Benny Hinn's ministry. With the aid of hidden cameras and crusade witnesses, the producers of the show demonstrated Benny's apparent misappropriation of funds, his fabrication of the truth, and the way in which his staff chose crusade audience members to come on stage to proclaim their miracle healings. In particular, the investigation highlighted the fact that the most desperate miracle seekers who attend a Hinn crusade—the quadriplegics, the brain-damaged, virtually anyone with a visibly obvious physical condition—are never allowed up on stage; those who attempt to get in the line of possible healings are intercepted and directed to return to their seats.

At one Canadian service, hidden cameras showed a mother who was carrying her Muscular Dystrophy-afflicted daughter, Grace, being stopped by two screeners when they attempted to get into the line for a possible blessing from Benny. The screeners asked the mother if Grace had been healed, and when the mother replied in the negative, they were told to return to their seats; the pair got out of line, but Grace, wanting "Pastor Benny to pray for [her]", asked her mother to support her as she tried to walk as a show of "her faith in action", according to the mother. After several unsuccessful attempts at walking, the pair left the arena in tears, both mother and daughter visibly upset at being turned aside and crying as they explained to the undercover reporters that all Grace had wanted was for Benny to pray for her, but the staffers rushed them out of the line when they found out Grace had not been healed.

A week later at a service in Toronto, Baptist evangelist Justin Peters, who wrote his Masters in Divinity thesis on Benny Hinn and has attended numerous Hinn crusades since 2000 as part of his research for his thesis and for a seminar he developed about the Word of Faith movement entitled A Call for Discernment, also demonstrated to the hidden cameras that "people who look like me"—Peters has cerebral palsy, walks with arm-crutches, and is obviously and visibly disabled—"are never allowed on stage[...]it's always somebody who has some disability or disease that cannot be readily seen." Like Grace and her mother, Peters was quickly intercepted as he came out of the wheelchair section (there is one at every crusade, situated at the back of the audience, far away from the stage, and never filmed for Hinn's TV show) in an attempt to join the line of those waiting to go onstage, and was told to take a seat.

This segment was later edited with new footage and shown on Dateline: NBC in November 2005 (video above).

Ministry Watch issues "Donor Alert"

In March 2005, Ministry Watch, issued a Donor Alert against the ministry. Benny Hinn Ministries (BHM) is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

BHM raises funds for a Gulfstream jet

In December 2006, Beeny Hinn Ministries (BHM) sent out a mailing asking for donations towards a new Gulfstream G4SP jet valued at an estimated US$36 million and costing over US$600,000/year to maintain and operate. The 22-seat craft was purchased in 2007 and christened "Dove One".

Senate investigation

On November 6, 2007, United States Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced an investigation of Hinn's ministry by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. In a letter to BHM, Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information to the Senate Committee on Finance to determine if Hinn made any personal profit from financial donations, and requested that Hinn's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The investigation also scrutinized five other televangelists: Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar. On December 6, 2007, Hinn told the Associated Press that he would not respond to the inquiry until 2008. Hinn's ministry has since responded to the inquiry, and Senator Grassley commented that, "... Benny Hinn [has] engaged in open and honest dialogue with committee staff. They have not only provided responses to every question but, in the spirit of true cooperation, also have provided information over and above what was requested."

Note: The following CHC/Benny Hinn crusades were held after the 2001 broadcast of the HBO documentary "A Question of Miracles" (Part 1, Part 2, final part not available) and the November 2004 broadcast of the CBC The Fifth Estatedocumentary "Do You Believe in Miracles"" (video 4above) exposing the fraudulent claims by Benny Hinn of miraculous cures.

"Pay me $1500, all who are mired in debt and in despair. I promise you a miracle of debt freedom for $1500," said Benny Hinn, unscrupulous swindler and scoundrel, in a crusade in Singapore organized by CHC.

The charlatan ruthlessly exploited the most vulnerable, the poorest of the poor, and the sickest of the sick, for their last cent.

SINGAPORE, 22 NOVEMBER 2008 — NOW IS THE time for the church to rise up, said Benny Hinn, and in the months ahead, the world will see some of the greatest miracles ever.

And the church is empowered to bring the light of God in the world as His anointing is rained down on His church. But, he said, there is a price to pay for the anointing of God.

Before the miracle filled meeting started, the 9,000-seat hall gathered for a prayer meeting. Fifteen minutes was all it took for Singapore Expo Hall 8 to get filled up, with some attendees queuing as early as 7am this morning.

The crowd did not seem to deter some.

“I feel great, and I hope I can bring something back for the church in Indonesia,” said Johan Supit, from the GPDI movement in Sumatra.

“Although we queued for a long time, it was worth it to get a seat here, and to be part of what’s going on,” said Soon Sze Yin, 23, pointing to her seat in the hall.

Palpable anticipation hung in the air as churchgoers wheeled their friends and relatives in, who came expecting a miracle of healing.

Debts Canceled, Miracles Revealed

Throughout the four-and-a-half hour service, the congregation sat riveted, listening intently to Hinn as he shared his revelations. Hundreds also filled the aisles to respond to his altar call for those believing for debt cancellation.

One of the highlights of the session was when Hinn challenged the congregation to give S$1,500 as an offering amount to get a return harvest in a week, something that he has experienced every single time he gives a breakthrough offering amount of US$1,000.

As the givers wrote the phrase “debt cancellation” on the offering envelopes, Hinn also encouraged the congregation to believe for a debt-free life in 12 months.

Truly, without faith, it is impossible to please God, and healing testimonies soon ensued after Hinn called out for healings. Deaf ears were opened, fractured ankles and knees were completely healed. These were some of the miracles that changed the lives of many.

Signs and wonders would be commonplace in the months ahead, said Hinn. He also encouraged the congregation, especially the pastors, to be willing to pay the price(ed.donate) for the anointing of God to carry out these miracles.

“There are times God will test our faith,” he said.

This eighth session of Asia Conference ended on a high. Angela Teo, 18, shared: “I was really encouraged by the sermon by Benny. I really believe God is raising up a new generation of believers and I am just so honoured to be involved in the end time harvest.”

If you visit his ministry Web site, you will see the words emblazoned right across the top —“Winning The Lost At Any Cost.” That is Pastor Benny Hinn’s mandate as the servant of God.

The popular preacher, widely received as the “healing evangelist,” ministered in a three-night “Benny Hinn Ministries Holy Spirit Miracle Crusade” to capacity crowds from 13 to 15 April, 2007 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

True to his calling, the anointed minister in his iconic white suit opened the first night with a salvation call for all the lost before devoting the rest of the meeting for ministry to the sick. Comprised of not just Singaporeans but also many visitors from Malaysia and Indonesia, the capacity crowd responded with great eagerness and expectancy.

Pastor Benny preached passionately on Jesus’ willingness to heal. As he preached the Word, the faith of many were strengthened. Throughout the service, the congregation was led into deep worship. Supported by a 1,000-strong (CHC) choir seated directly behind Pastor Benny, the stadium was filled with familiar strains from old Christian choruses such as “He Touched Me,” “Majesty” and “I Surrender All.” The presence of God permeated the whole stadium tangibly.

Before long, several empty wheelchairs started appearing at the front as the crusade helpers rolled them up, testifying to the healing power of God at work that night.

An elderly lady who had been deaf in her right ear for more than 60 years found that she could hear again. Apparently, a disease had eaten away her right ear drum down to the bone when she was a little girl, but the Lord’s healing power had restored her. She came onto the stage with a wide smile and the crowd burst out with applause to the Lord when she could repeat word for word after Pastor Benny when he whispered into her healed ear to test it.

Another young lady who had a rare form of cancer experienced God strongly when her whole body shook uncontrollably as His power came upon her.

A man who had needed the use of two hearing aids came to the stage, carrying them with him. He found his miracle in the service that night and no longer needed them.

People with all kinds of infirmities found hope that night, including a lady who when pregnant would fall so ill and weak that she could not eat and would have to be confined to a wheelchair. She too encountered the power of God that night. She came into the service in a wheelchair but in her own words, she said that she felt God’s breath come into her lungs in such a significant manner that she could pull herself out of her wheelchair and started walking.

The healing miracles were numerous and clearly evident. However, in Pastor Benny’s own words, the greatest miracle is not just physical but spiritual.

A married couple who were present that night experienced both kinds of miracles. In the midst of the service that night, someone shared Christ with the husband and while he was receiving Christ into his life and experiencing his spiritual miracle, his wife who had suffered from a stroke suddenly found that she could move her limbs normally again as God’s power provided her with a physical miracle.

This was but just the first night of Pastor Benny’s crusade. There was an air of expectancy of what God would do in the following two evenings.

GOD CONTINUED TO MOVE MIGHTILY

The meeting was scheduled for 7.30 p.m. on the second night, but by six in the evening, there was already a sizable crowd gathered at all the entrances of the auditorium. The moment the doors were open, the stadium was quickly packed with expectant souls, right up to the balcony. The meeting commenced earlier than scheduled with a praise song about God being good “all the time.” And that lyric set the tone for the entire meeting as people were about to witness the power of God moving across the stadium once again.

As the choir climaxed with their final rendition of “Then sings my soul,” Pastor Benny came onstage and led the congregation in a time of deep worship. In the midst of it, he quoted from Psalm 91: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust ...” The congregation was deeply moved as they waited on the Lord.

Pastor Benny then preached a short

THE SECRET TO MIRACLES

Following that, Pastor Benny then shared his message on “The Secret to Miracles.” True to what he proclaimed, whenever the Cross is revealed, healing will always take place. Indeed, many of the sick were healed that very night! Once again, those on wheelchairs got out of their wheelchairs and started walking. One by one, men and women went upstage to testify of how God had miraculously healed them. A person who had lung cancer and was wheelchair-bound after chemotherapy got out of the wheelchair that night and walked. Many others who had cancer were also healed of their disease!

In the midst of the testimonies, another wave of the Holy Spirit took over the meeting as Pastor Benny called up the city’s church pastors and leaders forward so that he could lay hands on them. The presence of God flooded the entire hall, sweeping from the front to the back, touching even the choir as hundreds fell under the power of God.

That night, Pastor Benny spoke a powerful word of prophecy over Singapore, affirming her unique position in South East Asia as the “center for healing” in the region. He also prophesied over City Harvest Church’s senior pastor, Rev. Kong Hee, and his strategic role in bringing Singapore’s transformation into a healing center.

MIRACLES ABOUND

On the last day of the conference, Pastor Benny set aside time to pray specifically for believers in China. A sizable groups of Chinese Christians had flown in specially to attend the conference and several ones shared praise reports on God's work among the churches there. Moved by their testimonies, Pastor Benny laid hands on them and prayed for revival to come to their homeland.

The meeting continued as Pastor Benny ministered in salvation and healing. More people received their miracles and all over the stadium, people were seen stepping out of their wheelchairs to walk and celebrating their healings. Possibly the most unforgettable moment was when a non-believer was supernaturally healed of her ailment and right there on stage in front of thousands of people, she gave her heart to Jesus.

By the end of the service, the tangible presence of God was strongly felt throughout the stadium and a great sense of faith and joy was evident in the faces of the people. To conclude, Pastor Benny prayed a prayer of blessing over the entire congregation who were gathered that day. It was truly a fitting and glorious end to an amazing weekend of witnessing God's power at work!

On March 11 and 12, 2005, City Harvest Church (CHC) had
the privilege of having world renowned healing evangelist Rev. Benny Hinn
minister at a massive healing crusade. Tens of thousands of attendees packed the
Singapore Indoor Stadium that weekend and experienced an unprecedented move of
God.

The first of three services was to start at 7.30 p.m. on Friday, but queues had
begun to form as early as 1 p.m. By 6 p.m., they had grown thick and long with
many hundreds amassed at each entrance, waiting patiently for the doors to open.
These consisted of CHC members, their family and friends, as well as thousands
of Indonesians, Malaysians, Koreans and others who traveled to Singapore from
all around the region just for the event.

Despite limited external
publicity, these overseas visitors had heard about CHC's healing crusade with
Rev. Benny, and flooded the church with requests for seats; they were truly
hungry for an encounter with God and would spare no effort or expense!

_______________________________

Occupying the entire section behind the stage was the 1,000-strong CHC choir,
smartly clad in blue and white. Most of them were volunteers without substantial
singing experience or training, but had undergone a week of intense
practice.

The service began with the CHC music team leading the
congregation in a time of energetic praise. Rev. Benny's own team of musicians
then took over, and the praise and worship continued with a unique blend of
contemporary worship songs, majestic hymns and even a lively Jewish number.
Making an unexpected appearance was famed Christian artiste Ron Kenoly, who led
his lively brand of gospel tunes with much heart and panache.

_______________________________

The second service on Saturday afternoon was special because it was included to
meet the overwhelming response of the first night's meeting. Originally, only
two services were planned for the crusade, but when organizer Kong Hee of City
Harvest Church saw the many who had to be turned away from the stadium on Friday
evening, he immediately arranged a Saturday afternoon service

***********************************

The charlatan "Dr" Benny Hinn was awarded a bogus PhD in Theology (no joke) by Life Christian University, a diploma mill, based in
Lutz, Florida, a suburb of Tampa (source)

*****************************

A Benny Hinn Bibliography

Here is a comprehensive collection of in-depth articles, letters to government officials, news releases, etc, on the con artist Benny Hinn dating from 1989 to the present.

Many so-called ‘Christian’ preachers go to great lengths to separate their followers from their money.

The latest reported ‘prosperity’ scam was reportedly committed by Todd Coontz, a guest speaker at the recent Benny Hinn “Miracle Crusade” in South Africa.

Apparently, in exchange for a gift of $1,000, 500 believers would receive an “exceptional blessing”. According to Coontz the blessing would be “poured out for only two minutes.”

God’s blessing would last only two minutes and it would create 500 churchgoing millionaires or even billionaires - all they had to do was use their credit cards to pay $1 000 in offerings to televangelist Benny Hinn.

Pastor Tommie Ferreira of the AGS Church in Johannesburg was so upset about the “blessing” that, after a week, he wanted to know who of the donors actually had become millionaires.

Ferreira told Rapport he did not mean to bring about Hinn’s downfall.

He merely wanted to know if any of the hundreds of churchgoers who donated amounts of up to $1 000 (about R7 500) to Hinn’s Miracle Crusade last week Saturday had now become millionaires.

About 18 000 people streamed to the Coca-Cola Dome in Randburg to hear Hinn’s message of healing and miracles.

Ferreira, who is a keen choir singer, voluntarily sang in the Miracle Crusade’s choir. He said one of Hinn’s American guest speakers, Pastor Todd Coontz, spoke about financial burdens and said 500 audience members would receive “an exceptional blessing”.

“He said the service would yield millionaires and billionaires within 24 hours.

“Everyone had to donate $1 000 because an exceptional blessing rested on $1 000.”

Coontz apparently really had the congregation scrambling when he said, “This blessing will be poured out for only two minutes.”

Ferreira said: “People stormed to the front - poor people, rich people, people from all sections of our society.”

Hinn’s co-pastors apparently had credit-card machines ready with which they could take donations.

“He (Coontz) said God would bless the people’s credit cards and they would be able to rule over South Africa with their money. Eventually there were no fewer than 1 000 people who made such donations.”

According to Ferreira’s calculations, Hinn must have collected millions of rands with these donations - perhaps more than R7m if each of the 1 000 church-goers donated $1 000 in the hope of becoming millionaires.

Furthermore, after Coontz’s collection of the $1 000 donations, Hinn collected general donations.

Dr Sarel Smit of the AGS church Lofstad in Hursthill, Johannesburg, who supported Ferreira as he spoke to Rapport, was equally worried about the method by which Hinn collected donations.

“Especially at a time like this when there is dire need, people run the risk of losing their faith in the Lord in this way. God will provide for your needs, but not your greed.”

Rapport spoke to an employee in Hinn’s South African office in Durban who said that they were still busy collecting money.

4 comments:

hey just wondering if you could research more deeply into the issue of Kong Hee's Credentials. City Harvest has a education division call School of Theology. Wonder what are the implications of the controversy surrounding Kong Hee's credentials. The lecturers of the school are listed here - http://sot.chc.org.sg/lecturers.asp. There is another lecturer with a degree from NCIU. Derek Dunn has degrees but the crediting institution is not mentioned. Not to mention one can find a booklist on the website. There are books by Cho Yonggi, Elk and Phil Pringle. All these individuals are highly controversial and suspect. It is very damaging if people have an impression that School of Theology is a formal school when it's lecturers and founders are holding bogus degrees.

I've also looked into the background of Derek Dunn, CHC's former executive pastor. See "Who is Derek Dunn?" here: http://exchersonesusaurea.blogspot.sg/2012/07/who-is-derek-dunn-city-harvest-churchs.html

Thanks for the postings on Benny Hinn. I have been a Christian for near 50 years. Since the 1960's American Christianity has become shallow among liberals and among many Evangelical Christians. Christians read the Bible much less. Their churches do not warn people of hypocrites . . . the likes of Benny Hinn. The big churches think and act more like theatre than worship. Is there anyone in Singapore who has actually had a doctor confirm healing? I have searched in Atlanta, Georgia. Have not found one.--Dana Roberts, M.A. M.T.S.